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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2009

DARK HORSE COMICS FOR MAY

ALIENS #1

Written by John Arcudi, penciled by Zach Howard, inked by Mark Irwin, cover by Howard.

A group of wildcat planetary prospectors plant their flag on a distant new world, rich in land, resources . . . and mystery. Within this seemingly uninhabited planet lies the greatest archaeological discovery in history: an ancient, abandoned complex of impossible proportions carved deep within the living rock, a mind-numbing labyrinth of passages, ramps, bridges, and galleries that seems to extend limitlessly. But as the exploration of the leviathan dead city proceeds deeper and deeper, the members of the team slowly begin to lose their grip on reality. But madness gives way to fear as the explorers begin to disappear one by one. Something else lives within the necropolis, a faceless horror as deadly and merciless as space itself, a lethal terror that has waited centuries to awake . . . and destroy.

Aliens #1 is the first act in the relaunch of all three classic Dark Horse/Fox comics series. The release of Aliens #1 will coincide with the Thirtieth anniversary of the Ridley Scott-helmed film, Alien, and will be preceded by an Aliens/Predator special for Free Comic Book Day!

32 pages, $3.50, in stores on May 27.

THE AMAZON #3

Written by Steven T. Seagle, art by Tim Sale, colored by Matt Hollingsworth, cover by Sale and Dave Stewart.

Reeling from his experiences in the Amazon jungle, reporter Malcolm Hillard is close to solving the mysteries of a missing American and sabotage at a timber company. What he still can't be sure of is whether the man he saw in the jungle is really the Spirit of the Amazon. But before he can get answers, chaos erupts as "The Amazon" carries out a final attack on the encroaching forces of industry, and the full wrath of Mother Nature is unleashed.

A newly recolored edition of a long-out-of-print series by two of comics' sharpest talents. Featuring more behind-the-scenes extras.

32 pages, $3.50, in stores on May 13.

BERSERK VOLUME 30

Written and art by Kentaro Miura.

Thanks to Lady Farnese's selfless sacrifice, Guts, the Black Swordsman, and the rest of his companions are free to carry on their journey aboard a ship arranged by Farnese's brother, Magnifico -- that is, if they're willing to leave Farnese behind. But having to choose between their mission and their loyalties might not be a problem for long if the Kushan emperor and his legion of monstrous minions have their way. With a host of Kushan forces descending on Vritannis, there might not be much left of Farnese's family -- or any of the citizenry -- to worry about!

208 pages, black and white, $13.95, in stores on July 29.

BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL VOLUME 21: DEMON LAIR II

Written and art by Hiroaki Samura.

A prisoner subjected to Habaki Kagimura and crazy Doc Burando's twisted experiments for far too long, Manji finds himself closer to freedom than ever before -- but several colorful villains block his way! While the shogun's executioner matches Manji and Doa's skills, the reborn, powerful Isaku struggles with Asaemon and Kagimura's henchmen. The breakout battle in the tunnels beneath Edo Castle continues! With plenty of mortal enemies to go around, Manji and company are surprised by the appearance of Burando's most horrific kessen-chu success story, just as the already treacherous tunnels begin to flood. Rin tries to remain hopeful, Burando faces the reality of his "immortality experiments" on Manji, and a monstrous villain makes a return appearance!

232 pages, $19.95, in stores on July 8.

B.P.R.D.: THE BLACK GODDESS #5

Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, art by Guy Davis, cover by Kevin Nowlan.

Trapped between a mad prophet and an apocalyptic battle, Abe, Kate, and Johann must determine the price of their souls as they decide where their loyalties lie -- and whether the life of a friend is more valuable than the fate of the world. A stunning conclusion, with a twist that will shake the worlds of B.P.R.D. agents and readers alike.

32 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 13.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #25

Written by Doug Petrie, penciled by Georges Jeanty, inked by Andy Owens, colored by Michelle Madsen, covers by Jeanty and Jo Chen.

Doug Petrie, formerly a writer and director on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series, joins Buffy Season Eight with "Living Doll." The spell little Dawnie got whacked with by the Thricewise demon she angered just keeps . . . evolving. First, she's a giant; then, she's a centaur; now, she's a . . . what?! Buffy, ever busy saving the world, will finally have to take action regarding her little sis when Dawn's mysterious disappearance makes it a priority. At least, she better be in some sort of danger, or Buffy's going to kick her butt for wasting precious time acting like an attention-seeking teen -- which is what Dawn is, after all.

40 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 6.

CAGES

Written and art by Dave McKean.

Dave McKean's Cages is back in print! Best known for his collaborations with Neil Gaiman, McKean defied expectations with his stunning debut as writer and artist with Cages, the winner of multiple awards for Best Graphic Album.

Filled with complex characters, intriguing flights of fancy, and all the beautiful visuals you'd expect from the director of MirrorMask, Cages is McKean's magnum opus. It chronicles the intersecting lives of a painter, a writer, and a musician living in the same apartment building, and is a profound rumination on art, God, cats, and the cages we build for ourselves.

496 pages, $29.95, in stores on July 22.

CLASSIC SIMPSONS CHARACTER #2: LISA SIMPSON

Inspired by the Syroco statues of the 1940s, Dark Horse's series of "Classic Comic" statuettes have been a huge success. Sculpted with flair and grace at Yoe! Studios, nearly one hundred different characters have been produced thus far, with most editions selling out upon publication.

While the statuettes in the series were originally based on characters from newspaper strips, in this companion series Dark Horse is featuring syroco'suniquely "primitive but charming" treatment on one of the modern era's most iconic, if dysfunctional, families -- none other than The Simpsons. We are excited to present the second character in our series of contemporary statues, pop culture's most beloved cast of crazies, America's favorite middle sister, and overachiever, Lisa Simpson.

Packaged in a special litho-printed full-color tin box with a vintage-style pin-back button and booklet, limited edition of 950 numbered pieces, $49.95, in stores on June 3.

Not content to sit back and wait for Natohk to arrive to destroy the city of Khoraja, Conan leads his men to meet the Stygian wizard in open combat. As Amalric's mercenaries and the remaining soldiers of Khoraja march impressively out of the city, Natohk's horrifying army -- backed by dark magic and otherworldly beasts‹acquires yet another powerful weapon. What chance do mortal men have? Conan must deal with dissension and class conflict in his own ranks and the strange visions and revelations of Princess Yasmela before he can hope to defeat Natohk's hordes. Even though his men trust and respect him, the aristocrats resent his presence and are waiting for him to stumble so that they can fulfill their own selfish ambitions! And what news does a Zamorian thief bring out of the desert? Continuing the adaptation of Robert E. Howard's "Black Colossus."

40 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 20.

DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH: NOTHING NEW FROM BRIAN EWING

Written and art by Brian Ewing.

Sharp as broken glass, smooth as a polished skull, dark as the other side of the moon -- this is the art of Brian Ewing, one of the leading-edge visual voices of graphic pop surrealism and the exploding rock-poster scene. Don't Hold Your Breath is the first collection of Ewing's stunning catalog, featuring posters, illustrations, and album covers for Bad Religion, Queens of the Stone Age, Metallica, Detective Comics, My Chemical Romance, The Bouncing Souls, Brand New, The Melvins, Warped Tour, The New Yorker, High on Fire, The Strokes, Fall Out Boy, and many more. Plus original art prints, skate decks, shirt designs, zombie masks, and skulls, skulls, skulls! Foreword by Kevin Lyman, creator of the Warped Tour.

112 pages, $22.95, in stores on July 1.

EMILY THE STRANGE VOLUME 2

Written by Rob Reger and Jessica Gruner, art by Buzz Parker and others.

Whoever it was that told you not to talk to strangers needs to have a talk with Emily . . . Emily the Strange, that is. Emily knows that nothing is better than talking with strangers. In fact, the stranger the better! But that's Emily for you -- she's the thirteen-year-old queen of the cultural underground, and she's too busy making up her own rules to follow anyone else's. That's how we've come up with so many insanely inspired ideas for the stories you'll find in Dark Horse's Emily the Strange Volume 2. This big, bizarre book collects the five most recent issues of Dark Horse's best-selling Emily the Strange comics, so you won't miss a single strange moment from the Rock issue, the Death issue, the Fake issue, the Revenge issue, or the Alone issue! We've all got issues, man. Isn't it time you dealt with at least these five?

Includes strange celebrity interviews with rocker Marilyn Manson, Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance, and more! Collects issue #4 from the first Emily series and issues #1-#4 from the new series.

240 pages, black, white and red, $19.95, in stores on July 29.

THE GOON VOLUME 8: THOSE THAT IS DAMNED

Written and art by Eric Powell, colored by Dave Stewart.

The town on the edge of Horse-Eater's Wood is permeated by all manner of dark things -- hatred, fear, unhappiness, demons, and the undead (to name a few) -- brought on by a curse that has festered within the forest for many years. The Goon himself was drawn by the power of the curse, but his soul is not consumed by this bleak place, and he discovers that he is the only hope for his town.

Goon's greatest foe, the dead mobster Labrazio, mounts his assault from a macabre burlesque house, using the Zombie Priest and his demonic kitty to put on the squeeze. It's up to the Goon, Franky, and all their pals to fight for the life their town deserves!

Part two of a three-part trade-paperback series, the most epic Goon tale yet -- The Return of Labrazio. Collects issues #24-#27.

112 pages, $15.95, in stores on July 15.

JOE LEDBETTER JOURNAL #2

This new journal is the epitome of Joe's bold style, with various Ledbetter-ized "animals" in a strange cliff-edge scenario.

5 1/2" x 8 1/2" spiral bound journal,
$9.99, in stores on June 10.

JOE LEDBETTER STICKY NOTE BOOK

The sticky note book has even more cute animals for you to scribble notes on. Packed like a small bound book, there are eight pads of three different sizes of sticky notes for your convenience.

8 pads with 3 different sizes of sticky notes, 6" x 8", $8.99.

LARRY MARDER'S BEANWORLD BOOK 2: A GIFT COMES!

Written and art by Larry Marder.

A Gift Comes! is jam-packed with new characters and monumental developments in the evolving Beanworld culture. It kicks off with the birth of the next generation of Beans: the baby Pod'l'pool Cuties. It chronicles the discombobulation of Mr. Spook's fork by greedy Goofy Service Jerks. Meet Mr. Teach'm, who raised Mr. Spook on a cloud. See the crazy breakout origin of Heyoka, Beanworld's upside down and backwards Bean. Read how Professor Garbanzo first discovered the Four Realities and much, much more!

Rescanned from the original artwork, this deluxe hardcover collects the final twelve long-out-of-print issues of the original acclaimed comic-book series in an affordable single volume!

320 pages, black and white, $19.95, in stores on July 22.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MARTHA WASHINGTON IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Written by Frank Miller, art by Dave Gibbons.

Nearly 20 years in the making, this archival, oversized, and slipcased hardcover volume contains the complete life story of Martha Washington, the 21st century freedom fighter created by comic-book megastars Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons.

Our story begins in the squalid corridors of a maximum-security housing project, where a young girl will rise from the war-torn streets of Chicago to battle injustice in a world insane with corruption. She will be called a hero, a traitor, and nearly everything in between, but all along the way, her courage, her integrity, and her unwavering commitment to that most valuable of rights -- liberty -- will inspire a movement that will never surrender.

Collecting meticulously remastered versions of every Martha Washington story, and features a comprehensive behind-the-scenes section, a new introduction by Miller and extensive commentary by Gibbons. The ultra-limited edition features tip-in pencil art by Gibbons that is signed by both creators and numbered to only one hundred copies!

Hellboy's premier crime fighter in an all-new novel! Where greed and the occult walk hand in hand, where mobsters and monsters prowl the streets, none escape the justice of Lobster Johnson!

In the years before World War II, Jonas Chapel was a respected physician, until his appetite for vice got the best of him and he found himself on the run from one of New York's most powerful mob bosses. On the lam in Mexico, Chapel stumbles across a powerful witch and a cursed skeleton -- and the power to transform men into monsters. Now, he's back in New York, selling his creations to the highest bidder.

Only one man, backed by his team of trusted sidekicks, stands in his way. But will the Lobster's resolve be enough to shut down Chapel's twisted Satan Factory -- before New York itself is consumed?

256 pages, black and white, $12.95, in stores on July 1.

NEIL GAIMAN PRESENTS: VOTAN

Written by John James.

The Neil Gaiman Presents program will be devoted to returning to print long-unavailable works in affordable paperback editions personally selected by Gaiman. Each book will carry a new introduction by Gaiman, speaking to the reasons why he selected the book for this line, as well as why the book deserves a wider audience.

A comedy set in the second century AD, Votan is the story of a Greek nobleman who is traveling and living abroad in Germany while carrying on an affair with a military man's wife. To save his own life, he takes an emergency business trip and packs with his belongings certain items that lead the townspeople he encounters to think him a Norse God, which he doesn't try to dissuade them from. Written in the same tone as Douglas Adams, the story unfolds in a humorous and adventurous manner as the lead character has to keep up the pretense of being a god while staying one step ahead of his lover's jealous husband.

This is the second of six titles in the Neil Gaiman Presents line to specifically deal with the subject of gods and mythology, chosen by Gaiman to represent the origins of his views on classic heroic literature. Contains a new introduction by Neil Gaiman available nowhere else.

288 pages, black and white, $12.95, in stores on July 8.

PIXU: THE MARK OF EVIL

Written and art by Gabriel Ba, Becky Cloonan, Vasilis Lolos and Fabio Moon.

This gripping tale of urban horror follows the lives of five lonely tenants -- strangers -- whose lives become intertwined when they discover a dark mark scrawled on the walls of their building. The horror sprouts quite innocently from a small seed and finds life as something otherworldly, damaged, full of love, hate, fear, and power. As the walls come alive, everyone is slowly driven mad -- defenseless against the evil in the building, stripped of free will, leaving only confusion, chaos, and eventual death.

Originally self-published as a two-volume book, this groundbreaking work receives a deluxe presentation in a hardcover edition with a sketchbook section.

128 pages, black and white, $17.95, in stores on July 15.

RAPTURE #1

Written by Michael Avon Omeing and Taki Soma, art by Oeming, colored by Val Staples, cover by Alex Maleev.

After warring for a century, Earth's greatest champions and villains suddenly disappear, leaving the planet devastated. Like a rapture, the Powers are gone and humanity is left behind to pick up the pieces. Amongst this wreckage, two lovers, Evelyn and Gil, find themselves separated by a continent and will do anything to find each other again. But when a strange being named "The Word" turns Evelyn into a champion with an angelic spear, she finds the force of her love for Gil clashing with her newfound power. Love and destiny collide in what will become the worst breakup -- ever.

40 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 27.

SOLOMON KANE VOLUME 1: THE CASTLE OF THE DEVIL

Written by Scott Allie, penciled by Mario Guevara, colored by Dave Stewart, cover by Mike Mignola.

Robert E. Howard's vengeance-obsessed puritan begins his supernatural adventures in the haunted Black Forest of Germany in this adaptation of Howard's "The Castle of the Devil." When Solomon Kane stumbles upon the body of a boy hanged from a rickety gallows, he goes after the man responsible‹a baron feared by the peasants from miles around. Something far worse than the devilish baron or the terrible, intelligent wolf that prowls the woods lies hidden in the ruined monastery beneath the baron's castle, where a devil-worshiping priest died in chains centuries ago.

Collects the Solomon Kane five-issue mini-series.

128 pages, $15.95, in stores on July 15.

STAR WARS ADVENTURES: PRINCESS LEIA AND THE ROYAL RANSOM

Written by Jeremy Barlow, art by Carlo Soriano.

Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewie are racing to deliver vital information to the Rebel Alliance. But Han allows himself to be distracted with the idea of earning some fast credits . . .

Ignoring pleas from Leia and the threat of trailing Imperial Star Destroyers, Han makes an unscheduled stop at a hot smuggling hub to pick up some cargo. Unfortunately, the crate he takes aboard the Millennium Falcon doesn't contain the kind of contraband he was led to believe. It's not simple or harmless . . . it's the kidnapped femme fatale Princess Mi!

80 pages, $7.95, in stores on July 29.

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS #6

Written by Henry Gilroy, penciled by Scott Hepburn, inked by Dan Parsons, cover by Le Tang.

In this thrilling conclusion to "Slaves of the Republic," Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano fight to free themselves and the kidnapped population of Kiros from a life of slavery‹and it's not only the Zygerrian slavers they must battle . . . Count Dooku has arrived with Asajj Ventress with hopes of salvaging the new slave trade that has been fueled by Separatist efforts.

40 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 13.

STAR WARS: DARK TIMES #14

Written by Mick Harrison, penciled by Douglas Wheatley, colored by Dave McCaig, cover by Wheatley.

"Blue Harvest," part 2 of 5.
The miasma of the dark times following the rise of the Empire entangles both the high and the low. Darth Vader comes to a realization about how short his future might be if he doesn't follow his master's every command.

While half a galaxy away, Dass Jennir, who has kept his Jedi past a secret from his employer, discovers that his employer hasn't been completely honest with him, either. The job Jennir has been hired to do is only part of what needs to be done, and a Jedi never leaves a job half-finished -- even if it means fighting ten-to-one odds!

40 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 27.

STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC #41

Written by John Jackson Miller, penciled by Brian Ching, colored by Michael Atiyeh, cover by Dan Scott.

"Dueling Ambitions," part 3 of 3.
It is championship day at the dueling Open: Zayne struggles to protect his inept partner in the duels while simultaneously trying to convince the boy's warrior father that he and his friends have a plan to save them and stop the slave "farm system." Meanwhile, Gryph and Jarael set the team's plan into action, doing their best to avoid the duel official's security.
In the conclusion to "Dueling Ambitions," Zayne faces the reality of his dreams and his future, and Jarael gets a look back at her mysterious past . . .

40 pages, $2.99, in stores on May 20.

STAR WARS: LEGACY #36

Written by John Ostrander, penciled by Omar Francia, colored by Brad Anderson, cover by Sean Cooke.

"Renegade." Gar Stazi's Galactic Alliance fleet joins forces with deposed Emperor Roan Fel's Imperials in a strike against the Sith Empire. Stazi has his work cut out for him -- not only must he hold together the shaky coalition, but he has to make sure that the allies do not lower themselves to their enemies' tactics! Fleet-versus-fleet action in the Star Wars tradition!

Coaster set: A great springtime lineup of adorable Tokidoki items, the first of which are an impressive set of coasters (four cork-backed coasters in a circular tin case) and a sticky note book. Packed like a small bound book, there are eight pads of three different sizes of sticky notes.